Liverpool managed to tie Virgil van Dijk down to a fresh contract at the end of last season but are struggling to do the same with Ibrahima Konate, who is in the final 12 months of his deal at the club.
He is another player Real Madrid are looking to poach as a free agent next year and with talks not progressing well, the Reds are planning to bring in another central defender soon.
According to Spanish source Galicia Press, Liverpool are interested in bringing Aston Villa star Ezri Konsa to Anfield, although the 27-year-old is currently an alternative to Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi.
The Premier League champions have also been linked with Guehi in recent months and he firmly remains their priority for the ongoing transfer window, the source has added.
Konsa has been a key part of Unai Emery’s plans at Aston Villa in recent times, so it remains to be seen if the Clarets are prepared to let go of him.
Their other important players like Jacob Ramsey, Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins have also been linked with departing the club this summer. With PSR concerns, Villa might sell somebody who could yield them a sizeable profit and £30m-rated Konsa fits the bill.
Liverpool likely to land Guehi
In recent weeks, Liverpool have done well to rebuild their offensive department and consequent to that, their defensive overhaul has taken a backseat.
However, with a transfer for Hugo Ekitike also in place, they can finally turn their focus to adding to the depth in their back four with talks for Marc Guehi expected to begin sooner rather than later.
Guehi is in the last year of his contract with Crystal Palace and would be available at a reasonable price this summer as the Eagles will look to mitigate their risk of losing him for free next year.
The English international will play a starring role at Anfield, so personal terms might not be as big a hurdle for Liverpool, thus indicating that they could complete the transfer quite easily.
With that looking likely, Ezri Konsa’s pursuit could come to an end. Nonetheless, he is a worthy alternative but with the budget Liverpool have, it is fair to say that they can look for significantly better names.
